The Mineral Wealth Law’s amendments No. 145 of 2019 include several positive legislative reforms to encourage investment in the mining sector, Minister of Investments and International Cooperation (MIIC), Sahar Nasr, said in a Monday statement

The mining projects will enjoy the incentives stipulated in articles 10, 11, 12, and 13 of the Investment Law when investing in the neediest areas according to the investment map and the data collected by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the minister explained.

Advantages of operating in the investment zones include self-licensing to save time and efforts, Nasr mentioned, noting that developers will be responsible for construction, promotion, and maintenance of the zones.

The board of each investment zone will be in charge of its work plan, including approvals, licenses, and permissions, Nasr noted.

Kamal Abu Galel, a member of the industrial committee in the Egyptian parliament, told Daily News Egypt in July 2019 that Egypt has a huge mineral wealth and the new law will maximise its revenues as well as encourage investment in the mining sector in the coming period.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has ratified the law No. 145/2019 that amends some provisions of the Mineral Wealth Law No. 198/2014. The amendments include the applicability of the law provisions to mining licenses and usufruct agreements whenever they come into effect. The new law was published in the official gazette on 13 August 2019.

Interestingly, there are 13 under-construction investment zones with EGP 78bn investments and expected to provide 208,000 job opportunities. The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) in cooperation with the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) will promote investment in three local investment zones; Meit Ghamr in Daqahleya, Al-Saff in Giza, and Banha in Qaliubiya, the statement mentioned.